"I am a sick man . . . I am a spiteful man. An unattractive man. I think that my liver hurts. But actually, I don't know a damn thing about my illness. I am not even sure what it is that hurts."
Part I, Chap. I, p. 1

"Living past forty is indecent, vulgar, immoral! Now answer me, sincerely, honestly, who lives past forty? I'll tell you who does: fools and scoundrels. I will say this right to the face of all those venerable old men, all those silver-haired, sweet-smelling old men! I have a right to say it, because I will live to sixty myself. To seventy! To eighty! . . . Wait, let me catch my breath."
Part I, Chap. I, p. 3

"Because, first of all, I am at fault for being more intelligent than anyone around me. (I've always considered myself more intelligent than anyone around me, and, would you believe...